Pizarro: San Jose school makes blankets for needy kids

Students and staff members at St. John Vianney School in East San Jose turned a generous spirit into reality this week with a project to provide blankets for children in need.

The effort was inspired by Project Linus, a nonprofit founded in 1996 that does the same thing on a national scale. Students raised money throughout the year to buy fabric and other materials and made 116 blankets, which were blessed in a ceremony at the school Wednesday morning.

The blankets will now be donated to JW House at Kaiser Santa Clara, Ronald McDonald House at Stanford, InnVision Shelter Network, Lucile Packard Children's Hospital and other organizations.

"It was an awesome event and a great opportunity for the St. John Vianney community to reach out to the broader community," said Sister Michele Anne Murphy, the school's principal.

MADE IN THE BAY AREA: If you're not familiar with the Die Hards Co., it's behind some great sports apparel inspired by Bay Area teams, like the fantastic "Fin City" shirt that's worn by many a Sharks fan these days.

With four years under the San Jose company's belt, co-founder Adam Mayberry says they're ready to go to the next level by manufacturing their shirts, hats and other products in the Bay Area instead of outsourcing them. They're doing this with the help of a Creative Industries Incentive Fund grant from San Jose's Office of Economic Development, but they're also looking to their fans to match the funds through a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter (There's a link at www.thedhco.com).

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Mayberry also let me know that the company added an "s" to its name this year after lawyers for Sears -- which makes Die Hard car batteries -- came calling. I guess it's a good thing Bruce Willis didn't get wind of it, but I think he'd look good in one of their shirts.

WALKING, TALKING WINE: It might be true that you can pair just about anything with wine, but does that hold true for ballot measures? We'll find out Tuesday evening when the "Yes on B" group -- that's the measure to renew San Jose's library parcel tax -- holds a fundraiser at Joseph George Fine Wines on Meridian Avenue (tickets for the 5 p.m. wine-tasting are $250 apiece; RSVP to mcgurkml@gmail.com if you're interested).

Meanwhile, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors is taking steps to make it easier to find your way to the valley's vineyards and wineries. On Tuesday, the board adopted the Santa Clara Valley Wine Trail Route and gave the OK for the installation of directional signs in unincorporated parts of the county. These will be in addition to signs in Morgan Hill and Gilroy that point the way to more than 20 wineries located along the route. Wisely, "Don't Drink and Drive" signs also will be placed along the route, and let's hope that people pay as much attention to those.

Of course, you can always bring the wineries closer, which will be the case at the Willow Glen Spring Wine Walk on April 26. About three dozen wineries -- including Guglielmo, Creekview Vineyards, Clos LaChance and Stag's Leap -- will be on hand for the afternoon sip-and-stroll along Lincoln Avenue. Tickets are $35 and can be purchased at www.willowglen.org.